OBITUARY NOTICE:
Rev. William F. Drobach, SA – Franciscan Friar of the Atonement
(September 17, 1942 – May 20, 2021)
(May 24, 2021 – Graymoor, Garrison, NY). Father William F. “Bill” Drobach, SA, a Franciscan Friar of the Atonement, passed from this life on Thursday, May 20, 2021. Visiting hours will be held on Tuesday, May 25, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at Our Lady of the Atonement Chapel (OLA) at Graymoor in Garrison, N.Y., with a wake service to follow at 7 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Wednesday, May 26, at 10 a.m., also at OLA. Interment will take place at a future date.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Friends of Father Bill Memorial Fund in support of the Friars’ ministry at St. Christopher’s Inn. Those wishing to leave a tribute in Fr. Drobach’s memory may do so at the website of the Dorsey-Carlone Funeral Home and also on the Facebook pages for the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement and St. Christopher’s Inn.
Fr. Drobach was born on September 17, 1942, in Newark, N.J. He attended local elementary schools and graduated from Archbishop Walsh High School in Irvington, N.J., in 1960. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Seton Hall University in 1965 and a Masters of Divinity degree from Washington Theological Union in 1988.
Fr. Drobach joined the Friars of the Atonement in 1982 and received the habit in 1983. He made his first profession in 1984 and professed final vows in 1987. He was ordained in 1988 at Graymoor by Bishop William J. McCormack.
After his ordination in 1988, Fr. Drobach served as Pastor at Reconciliation Communities in Bridgeport, St. Catherine, Jamaica, West Indies, until 1991. He was appointed Director of Novices at Graymoor in 1991 and served in that role until 1995. Fr. Drobach was Pastor of St. Odilia Parish in South Central Los Angeles, California, from 1995 to 1999 and Associate Pastor at Church of the Atonement in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, from 2000 to 2001.
From 2001 to 2017, Fr. Drobach ministered at St. Christopher’s Inn, first as Counselor and Vice President, and then as President and CEO, which he was appointed in 2010. He left Graymoor in 2017 to serve as the Friars’ Novice Director in Assisi, Italy, until 2019. Fr. Drobach returned to part-time ministry at St. Christopher’s Inn in 2019 as a member of the pastoral team and Office of Mission Effectiveness. In October 2019, the Prevention Council of Putnam County, N.Y., honored Fr. Drobach with the James Reitz Making a Difference – Outstanding Community Service Award in recognition of his “exemplary contributions and accomplishments in the fields of substance use and disorder prevention, treatment and recovery.”
Fr. Drobach was a resident of the Friary at St. Christopher’s Inn in Garrison, N.Y., at the time of his death. A son of the late William F. Drobach, Sr., and Grace M. (Culver) Drobach, both of Newark, N.J., he is survived by his brother, John E. Drobach, and his sister, Nancy H. Ford.